Scorpions (Hardcover) - Myers, Walter Dean

Product Overview

In this tragic and utterly authentic 1989 Newbery Honor Book about two friends in contemporary Harlem, "Myers has captured the street milieu well, and the characters and the events ring all too true. . . . A dishearteningly effective tale of poverty and inverted values."--"Booklist." ALA Notable Children's Book.

Specifications

Physical

Dimensions

(in Inches) 7H x 4.5L x 0.75T

Author Info

Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers's mother died when he was young, leaving his father to raise eight children alone. When he was three, Walter was taken in by a nearby couple, Herbert and Florence Dean, who moved with him to Harlem, New York. A speech impediment contributed to his unhappy time in school, although he did love to read and write. When he was 16 he won a prize in an essay contest, which encouraged him to continue his writing although he eventually dropped out of school and joined the Army. Afterward, he held a series of jobs before becoming a full-time writer. His first book for children, WHERE DOES THE DAY GO?, was published in 1969 after it won a competition sponsored by the Council on Interracial Books for Children. Myers has been awarded the Newbery Honor, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contributions to young adult literature.

Praise

"A dishearteningly effective tale of poverty and inverted values."

"Myers writes with candor and an eye for the strange world in which dreams and despair somehow coexist...A realistic, spare, and almost unbearably sad story."

From the Publisher

Editors Note

After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun--until a tragedy occurs